Following on from our exploration of what Digital Analytics is, and the exploration specifically of hiring Digital Insights Analysts in the North of England and Midlands, we wanted to take a look at Product Analytics, and how it differs from the standard Digital Analyst role.To help investigate the importance of Product Analytics in the current market, we have interviewed Nicky Tran, a Product Analyst at Virgin Media (Manchester).What Is A Product Analyst?In simple terms, a Product Analyst ‘’looks at the different products a company has, and then you are identifying which areas of the product can be improved or which areas can be optimised.” While Digital Analytics can inform the product lifecycle, the interesting aspect to this role is, that unlike a traditional Web Analyst role, it is more of a hybrid role. Nicky emphasised that it is ‘’an upcoming sector within the analytics community’’, providing an overlap between Digital Analytics, Customer Analytics and Data Science.The key skills and tools for this role are advanced SQL, Google Analytics, and AB testing. So how does this skillset differ from a traditional Web Analyst? Nicky suggests that while the core requirements are that of a Web Analyst, with a web role you would essentially just be using Google Analytics Data. However, as a Product Analyst, you would be using advanced SQL to access other data bases, and pull data from models, and therefore, “you are combining two sets of data to get a more insightful look”.Why Is Product Analytics Important, And Why Are They Now Becoming More Prominent On The Market?Similar to Digital Analytics roles, it is clear that with the impending digital transformation, companies are becoming increasingly data-led, especially with regards to their digital platforms (and products).As a result of the pandemic, the digital space is so much more important than ever before. Therefore, to stay competitive, and to really understand the products from the consumer perspective, companies have to provide the most personalised customer experiences to acquire and retain their consumers. As Nicky mentions, ‘It is definitely worth making an ‘inventory’ to see how to promote what you have – it is about personalising the customer journey’.What are employers looking for in a Product Analytics candidate?Product Analytics are great due to their hybridity. In the current market, where there are numerous jobs, and few candidates, a Product Analyst (technically strong in three areas) is a highly sought-after rarity.Businesses are becoming increasingly invested in Product Analytics and having a Product team that works alongside the Digital team can be beneficial; especially when companies need to stay competitive.What are Candidates looking for? Understanding the differences between a Digital Analyst, and a Product Analyst is key to understanding what a candidate is looking for. Nicky suggested that this Product Analyst role enabled her to be the ‘bridge’ between areas.So how does the future of a Product Analyst differ to that of the route of a Digital Analyst? For Nicky, this is one of the most important factors to being a Digital Analyst, as she has the option to go down the Data Science route in the future should she wish. The more technical skills she has as a Product Analyst means she is building up experience across different areas of Data & Analytics, giving her a slightly different career path, should she want to go down a more technical route.Why Choose A Product Analyst Role?“If you come from a technical background – maths, physics, computer science – and are interested in how the numbers are crunching, it is worth going into Product Analytics, as it needs a logical mathematics brain, to be able to convert it into a way which is useful to stakeholders.”From speaking to Nicky, it is clear that Product Analytics is an up-and-coming role that people don’t know enough about it. Therefore, if you are curious about Product Analytics, or any of the different roles the market has to offer at the moment, as an employer looking for help hiring, or a candidate actively or passively looking for work, Harnham can help. Take a look at our latest Product Analytics jobs, or get in touch for more information on how we can support your hiring needs.
Posted in Product Analytics